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A cage without a view increases stress and impairs cognitive performance in rats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

AP Harris ,
RB D’Eath  and
SD Healy
AP Harris*
Affiliation:
47 Little France, Queens Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK
RB D’Eath
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural College, Sir Stephen Watson Building, Bush Estate, Penicuik EH26 0PH, UK
SD Healy
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
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Abstract

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Single housing is believed to be chronically stressful and to have a negative impact on welfare and cognition in rats (Rattus norvegicus). However, single housing does not consistently evoke stress-like responses nor does it consistently impair cognitive performance. In an experiment in which all cages were separated by an opaque barrier, single- and pair-housed pigmented (dark-eyed) rats performed equally in a cognitive test and displayed similar levels of anxiety during testing. Additionally, bar biting in the home cage did not differ between the two groups. Stress levels both during cognitive testing and in the home cage were higher than those we have previously reported when rats were housed without opaque barriers between the cages. We conclude that visual interactions between rats in different cages may be of sufficient significance that single housing in a cage with a view to neighbouring rats and to the rest of the laboratory holding room may be preferable to pair housing in a cage without this view.

Keywords

animal welfareratsspatial cognitionstressthigmotaxisvisual isolation
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , August 2010 , pp. 235 - 241
Copyright
© 2010 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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